Play Me a Song
by LettersAsTeeth
Summary: While escaping angry upperclassmen, American transfer student Tyler Reed runs into our favorite host club. After a compliment from Haruhi and a forced performance, Tyler somehow becomes the musician for the Autumn ball. So begins our cute romance. Except our little Tyler has a dark past she would like to keep secret, and Kyouya isn't known for respecting one's privacy
1. 「01」

**Blah Blah Blah:** Well, a Kyoya Fanfic was requested, so I thought I'd dig out an old idea and flesh it out more and vwala! Here's what came up! I decided to go with a mix of both the anime and the live-action since when I originally started this story, the live-action version had just been released. As you can see by the cover, I settled on modeling her off of Luka since I wanted her to be a singer with dyed hair, and I think Luka is sometimes underappreciated (love Miku, but c'mon guys! Where's Luka's love?). Expect some rewritten episodes, but not too many. Don't want it to be boring, right?(; Happy reading~

* * *

—1—  
「In Which Tyler Meets the Host Club」

* * *

I'd admit it: I zone out when it comes to music. That was why mom used to always yell at me when I had headphones in—I literally ignored everything else and ended up ramming into things. That being said, this wasn't the first time I'd ran into someone. In fact, the last time I rammed into a stranger, it was on a school trip. The song had just reached the bridge—my favorite part—and when I went to sway into the melody, _bam_. Right in the shoulder of some vendor trying to sell me lotion.

Even though he was irritated, his reaction was better than the upperclassmen at Ouran High School.

"Are you going to apologize or not?" he barked, leering down at me. He was almost an entire foot taller than me, auburn hair down to his shoulders. His gray eyes were narrowed, angry and impatient.

I bit my lip, reminding myself that I couldn't cause any trouble, and held up my hands, trying to seem as innocent as possible. "I'm _so_ sorry. I didn't see—I mean—I was a little distracted," I tried, motioning to the headphone cord dangling against my t-shirt.

The guy next to him leaned in. "Hey, Toru, I think that's the American transfer," he said, eyeing me. "You know, that one that got in on a music scholarship?"

He snickered. "Oh? That explains the street clothes."

My fist twitched, and I bit down harder on my lip to keep from snapping back, looking down at my green long-sleeve to distract myself. It was a nice pastel color in my opinion, going well with the white capris I had dug from my suitcase this morning. The move here had been abrupt and unplanned, so I hadn't been able to pack as much as I wanted—just a suitcase full of clothes to tie myself over until Uncle Wes could make the arrangements to get the rest of our things. Honestly, people were just lucky I found something that looked decent, let alone actually _matched_. Instead of defending myself, though, I thought it'd be better if I just kept my mouth shut. Maybe if I did, he'd let me go without too much of a scene.

After all, the only reason I was able to go to a good school at all was because of my aunt and uncle. It'd be awful to pay them back by getting suspended.

Auburn haired guy, Toru or whatever, opened his mouth, but a creepy grin spread across his friend's face. Before he could say anything, his friend tugged on his arm, whispering something in his ear.

A pit of dread settled in my stomach.

"How about you play me a song then?" he said, puffing out his chest in that alpha-male way. "To make up for running into me."

I almost shuddered. The offer itself wouldn't have been bad, but the disturbing grin on his friend's face made me wonder what he whispered, and then I remembered that there weren't any cameras in the classrooms, only in the halls.

Oh, God, what were they planning?

Instead of sticking around to find out, I backtracked, spun on my heel, and made a mad dash for the red-carpeted stairs. I could hear the upperclassmen behind me, shouting profanities as they followed.

I didn't know where I was going—it was only my second day, dammit!—but before I stopped and prepared myself for defeat, I saw a pair of golden, double doors. Salvation! Picking up the pace, I rushed in, slamming the door behind me loudly.

"Welcome~" came a chorus of voices, breaking my concentration.

I squeaked and turned around so fast, I was surprised I didn't give myself whiplash.

Seven guys were standing behind me. The one in the middle was smiling warmly at me, hand outstretched as if he was waiting for me to take it. It took me a moment to realize this was Tamaki Suoh, the famous prince of Ouran. Even after only two days here, I had heard so much about him that I felt like I had already met him. His blond hair was neat, accenting his purple eyes, and the school uniform made him look taller, but softer in a way.

On his left were a pair of identical twins—they looked exactly alike except for the direction they parted their orange hair. There were rumors of a pair of mischievous twins going around the school, but I couldn't be sure these two were them since the only thing I had heard about them was that they tended to stick to themselves, playing pranks and jokes on the teachers sometimes.

A little blond boy on the other side of the twins grinned widely at me, distracting me from staring too hard at the twins, but the tall guy behind him merely raised an eyebrow. I had no idea who they were. At all.

On Tamaki's other side, there was another boy. He was shorter than the rest—hell, he was even shorter than _me_ a little—with short brown hair that matched his eyes. I noticed that he looked kind of out of place, though, his expression almost uncomfortable.

Completely away from the scene, leaning against a table without a care in the world, was the last guy. His black hair was hanging in front of his glasses, framing his silver eyes as he jotted down something on his clipboard. I recognized him immediately from my class: Kyoya Ootori, Tamaki's right-hand man. Like Tamaki, Kyoya was talked about so much that it felt like we had already met despite the fact that I hadn't even talked to either of them yet. Hell, I didn't even think I had looked their way once since starting here.

I blinked, trying to find something to say, but before I even finished the movement, fists pounded on the doors.

"We know you're in there, Commoner! Open the damn door before I break it down!"

I couldn't help but roll my eyes. As if barking was going to get me to come out.

But as big as the doors looked, they were just for show. With a few hard pushes, they broke apart, barely giving me any time to scramble out of the way. The upperclassmen came bursting through, looking murderous.

Someone cleared their throat behind me. I glanced back to see Tamaki looking quizzically at them. "And who might you be?" he asked politely.

Toru snatched me up roughly. "Didn't mean to bother you guys; just playing a game with our friend."

"Sorry to interrupt you." His friend bowed.

I opened my mouth to protest, readying myself to finally fight back, but someone grabbed my wrist, stopping the guys in their tracks. I looked up at Kyoya, blinking, but he kept his gaze on the guy holding my arm. Surprised, Toru loosened his grip, allowing Kyoya to pull me closer to him.

"Sorry, Toru Kito, senior in class 3-A, but we can't let you take the girl."

He looked uneasy but pushed on. "It's not as if she's anything to _you_."

Kyoya didn't bother retorting. "Mori-senpai, would you mind escorting these gentlemen out?" he asked, pushing his glasses up.

The really tall one stepped from behind the short blond and effortlessly picked up each senior by the collar, placing them on the other side of the door before shutting it in their faces.

I blinked a few times before looking up at my savior with a smile. "Thanks."

He smirked, releasing my wrist. "Don't mention it." He looked at the crowd of confused faces. "This is the new transfer student, Tyler Reed. She's in my and Tamaki's class."

The boy who looked uncomfortable seemed to relax as he nodded, looking at me. "She was the one I was talking about. You know, the one playing the guitar in the janitor's closet," he said.

I tilted my head, thinking. It was true that during lunch today, instead of sitting in the cafeteria with all of the stares, I had decided to find a small place to sing. The feat had turned out to be harder than I expected since every room I could find was twice the size of my old school's auditorium, so I had settled on a janitor's closet (that was still half the size of a normal gymnasium).

I was sure that the only person who had noticed was a girl, though. Even in the dark, the pitch of the voice that had apologized was too high to be a guy, especially a teenager who had already gone through puberty.

I must have been staring at him for too long because the boy started rubbing his head. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop. It just sounded good, and I got ahead of myself."

Now that I thought about it, though, this guy's voice was too high too—almost two or three octaves too high. Not something that would be necessarily impossible, just something that would be really unlikely. Plus, with the way he was holding himself—with his arms crossed like that, straight and stiff—and the softness of his face...

I blinked. _He_ was actually a _she_.

Huh. Interesting.

Instead of commenting on it, I smiled at her, shrugging. "It's fine. I was just trying to remember what song you came in on."

"Oh, it was a song from an anime," she said. "By EGOIST, maybe?"

"Ah. That one. Yeah, I messed up on the refrain a little."

She finally returned the smile. "I didn't even notice, so don't worry about it."

The twins, who were watching intently as we talked, decided to join in. "What're you talking about, Haruhi?" they asked at the same time.

"I told you guys about it when we got back from lunch," she huffed, annoyed. "That's why I was late, remember? After Sensei had asked me to run that errand for her, I got lost and ended up in the South Wing. When I walked past one of the doors, I heard someone playing a guitar and got distracted."

"No fair~" the shorter blond whined dejectedly, hugging a pink bunny to his chest. "I wanna hear her sing too~"

A sly smile curled the twin's lips simultaneously, giving me a small chill.

"Say, Boss, I agree with Hani-senpai," one started.

"Yeah. I've heard the new girl is such a great musician, the Board of Directors cried when they heard her singing," the other concluded.

Tamaki rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Yes, I've heard that too," he mused. "Alright, someone get this girl a guitar."

My eyes widened, mouth dropping open. "Wait! What if I don't want to? I have something I need to—"

"Too bad," a twin inserted, grinning evilly.

"Because you owe us," the other joined, grin matching.

"Owe you?" I repeated dumbly.

Kyoya smirked a little, pushing up his glasses. "For saving you, of course."

I opened and closed my mouth like a fish out of water, trying to think of some way to retort, but then the tall one casually appeared out of nowhere with a Gibson acoustic guitar and my jaw almost hit the floor.

"Just one song," the twins said at the same time, snickering as if they knew they'd already talked me into it.

I bit my lip. Tempting me with a guitar was so not fair! They were technically right, though—they really did save me back there—and my appointment wasn't for another hour, so it wasn't going to hurt anything... Besides, that guitar was gorgeous, and it'd be a sin not to play it...

I sighed, giving in. "Fine," I agreed, "but only one song, okay?"

The twins nodded enthusiastically.

I blew a piece of hair out of my face and grabbed the guitar, feeling the smooth finish. It was a limited edition, Eric Church hummingbird acoustic guitar, nothing like the Yamaha I managed to borrow from the music room, with a beautiful swirl on the pickguard, and I smiled a little as I tested the sound. All seven of them gathered around as the strings rang out.

"Uh, so, this is called _The 100 Events_ ," I mumbled, awkward. I could tell which was worse: the too-enthralled looks on Tamaki and the short blond, or the completely nonplussed look on Kyoya's face. "It's, uh, it's what I was singing when Haruhi stumbled in, so... yeah."

Instead of continuing until I mumbled myself into a hole, I decided to shut my mouth and pluck the first couple of notes. The first stanza came out shakily because I was nervous, but once the song came to me, I smiled and blocked out the rest.

 _anna sasai na yakusoku wo daiji ni omotte  
kimi wa nante shoushinmono na no darou  
hisshi na kimi wo mitetara nandaka  
hara ga tatteta kotode sae  
taishita koto ja nai you na ki ga shita_

 _watashi jibun no koto ga yoku wakarankunatte  
kimi wa na no ni noutenki na kao shite  
waratta kimi wo mitatara nandaka  
zutoo nayandeta koto de sae  
taishita koto ja nai you na ki ga shita_

 _donna riyuu wo tsukete mo  
setsumei ga tsukanai nokimi no koto_

The chords were easier here because it was just a repeat of everything from before, but the notes were higher, so I cleared my throat and let myself get sucked into the song.

 _kanashii koto ga atte mo  
itsumo gaman wo shita  
nami wa hito ni misete wa ikenai mono  
dana no ni kimi wa nani mo iwazu soba ni ite kureta kara  
watashi no me wa chotto dake yurunde shimau_

 _donna riyuu wo tsukete mo  
setsumei ga tsukanai no  
kimi no koto  
dore dake kangaetatte  
wakatteru no wa tabun  
kirai ja nai tte iu koto_

I hadn't realized I had closed my eyes until the last chord faded off. When I opened them, though, the entire group was staring at me in complete bafflement, all of their mouths hanging open except for, of course, Kyoya, who still looked like he was calculating the next expense rather than listening to music.

I mean, damn, even if he doesn't like the way I sound, he has to at _least_ appreciate the clean sound of the beautiful acoustic they let me use, right?

Trying to ignore how alien Kyoya seemed, I looked at the rest. "Er, I know it wasn't that great—" I started, but Tamaki interrupted.

"It's perfect!" he practically shouted, grabbing my hands. "My little songbird, will you do us the honors of performing at our Autumn Ball?"

I blinked. "Huh?"

He continued on his own. "Yes, this is exactly what we need. The new transfer student suddenly debuts for the host club, earning recognition for herself and making new friends in the process! It's beautiful~" He pointed at me dramatically. "You will come here every day after school until Friday, where you'll perform for the annual ball!"

"But—"

"It's actually not a bad idea," Kyoya added, scribbling things down on his clipboard again. "According to my calculations, it'll save the host club a good bit of money—and, of course, showcase your talent to some very important people."

Tamaki's eyes were glowing. "Wonderful~"

While he did some sort of happy dance, Kyoya walked over to me. "I don't think we've properly introduced ourselves," he said. "As I'm sure you've heard, my name is Kyoya Ootori. You could say I'm the manager of this establishment."

"Uh, Tyler Reed," I said uncertainly, as if I didn't know what my name was.

He nodded. "Yes, you're the music student from America. There's a bit of scandal around your arrival here, so you're pretty well-known."

"Scandal?" I echoed, tilting my head.

"Quite. Haruhi being allowed in was one thing; it's an entirely different matter for an American to be flown to Japan specifically to go here." There was an edge of a question in there, but his face was indifferent, like it didn't matter if I answered or not.

"It sounds awesome when you put it that way, but it wasn't anything like that," I said anyway. It wasn't a secret, not really, and it wasn't like it was that big of a deal, so I didn't mind telling him. "My aunt and uncle have been big fans of Japan since I can remember—so much that they took Japanese classes together in college to learn the language—and their instructor invited them on a reunion trip to Okinawa. They were showing off recordings to someone, and, well, here I am."

He looked at me. "I see," he said rather blandly.

I made a face. Kyoya reminded me of the men Uncle Wes had to talk to when I was first asked to come to Ouran: stiff, expressionless, and hard to get along with.

The little boy with big brown eyes came bouncing over to me, a bright smile on his face. "I'm Mitsukuni Haninozuka, but you can call me Hani-senpai."

I tilted my head. "Senpai?"

His grin widened, a giggle escaping. "Oh, I'm a third-year."

I blinked, staring too intensely at him. He barely came up to my side, probably only around 4'10", with short, honey-blond hair. The boys' uniform he was wearing made him even smaller, like a little kid. He even had a stuffed, pink bunny was in his arms, snuggled against his chest! How could he possibly be a year _older_ than me?

"Takashi~" he giggled, looking behind him. "Come say hi to Ty-chan."

The tall one walked over silently despite his size. He had to be taller than six feet, the uniform not doing anything to help his height, so I had to lean back just to see him. His dark hair was a mess of short spikes, showing his dark eyes and the blank look on his face.

"Hello," he said, voice deep.

I cleared my throat. "Uh, hi."

"Takashi Morinozuka," he continues, bowing slightly. "Mori."

"Good job," Hani said, patting his leg. "Now, let's go make sure everything's set~"

Mori gave me a curt nod before following after the bouncing boy.

"And I am Tamaki Suoh, my lovely little songbird," Tamaki said, grabbing my hand and kissing it in one smooth motion.

"Uh, nice to—er—meet you?" Songbird?

Kyoya sighed as he separated me from Tamaki. "She was just attacked by upperclassmen; flirting with her will scare her off."

"But, Mommy," he whined, "she needs to be shown there are kind gentlemen out there."

I chuckled.

"In any case," Kyoya said, disregarding him, "the customers should be arriving soon."

His eyes lit up. "Right you are." Then he was off, doing god-knows-what.

"Out of the way," the twins said, carrying a table.

I side-stepped them, moving towards Kyoya as he pulled out a small tablet, and had a look around. The room was big, almost too big, with a high, rose ceiling. The walls were mainly windowed, showing the courtyard and garden just below. Everyone was bustling to add finishing touches to the little things: making sure the curtains looked just right, straightening the intricate tablecloths, fixing decorations so they were dead center on their pedestals. It was interesting to watch.

"What _is_ this place exactly?" I wondered.

Kyoya continued tapping on the screen as he answered. "It's a Host Club."

"Host Club?"

He nodded absently. "A place where male students entertain those who are bored."

"So those exist, huh? We don't have anything like that in America."

He stopped typing and looked at me. "Then allow me to explain further. Tamaki is the prince, always showering the guests with compliments and etiquette. Hikaru and Kaoru play the 'brotherly love' extension, acting as if they have more than sibling feelings towards one another. Hani-senpai is the innocent loli-shota, Mori-senpai being his silent and collected partner who watches over him."

"What about Haruhi?" I asked. "Is she here for those interested in the same-sex?" I didn't mind it. It was the opposite actually: I was under the impression Japan was a little tight-lipped when it came to same-sex couples, so it would be good to see them moving in a more open-minded light.

Everyone stopped, though, staring in my direction.

"Same—"

"—sex?" the twins repeated, bursting into laughter.

Kyoya pushed his glasses up, amusement tugging at his lips. "You can tell Haruhi is a girl?"

I tilted my head, confused. "And you can't?" I said dubiously.

He shook his head with a small smirk as Haruhi glared at the guys rolling on the floor. "Haruhi is a special case," he explained, definite amusement coloring his voice.

"I'm working here to pay off my debt," she supplied, ignoring the guys on the ground mumbling incoherent words before they sputtered with more laughter. "I accidentally shattered a vase my first day here worth a lot of money"

"How much?" I asked, purely curious.

"Eight million yen."

I whistled. "Geez. I don't think my entire house is worth that much."

"Same." She sighed. "So, there really wasn't much of a choice but to pretend to be a boy and join."

I nodded, catching a glance of the twins still rolling on the ground, and bit my lip. "I'm sorry about the assumption. I just thought—well, I mean, I had _hoped_ —with what I heard about the views—"

Haruhi smiled, cutting off my rambling. "It's fine. After a while, you get used to it. No harm done."

I let out a breath. "I'm sorry."

"Haruhi~" Tamaki sang. "Come help daddy choose the best roses to use for the vases today."

She sighed again, muttering something about 'rich people,' and gave me a little wave before she headed over to him.

Hikaru and Kaoru calmed down as she headed towards Tamaki, wiping tears away as they stood up.

"Nice stumbling there, Commoner-senpai," Hikaru said, leaning on one of my shoulders.

"Yeah. Didn't know you were so tongue-tied," Kaoru snickered, joining Hikaru on my other shoulder.

"I don't like embarrassing people," I muttered. "Is there something wrong with that?"

Hikaru opened his mouth to reply, probably something sarcastic, but Kyoya interrupted him. "Hikaru, Kaoru, I believe there's a few things left for you two to do," he toned. "Guest will be arriving in three minutes."

"Gotcha, Kyoya-senpai," Kaoru said, still grinning.

Hikaru snorted. "Yeah, we'll get right on it."

They helped Tamaki and Haruhi set up, teasing the prince host about something, and I looked at Kyoya.

"Thanks," I said.

He didn't glance up from his work. "For what?"

"For helping."

He looked at me, raising an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"You said that thing about stuff needing to be done just so Hikaru and Kaoru would stop making fun of me, didn't you? Same with Tamaki—just when I was getting uncomfortable, you sidetracked him so I could have some space."

"I can assure you that my only interest is ensuring this place is perfect for our guests," he said, pushing his glasses up. "My intentions weren't to help you."

I pursed my lips, narrowing my eyes at him as he returned my look indifferently.

I could've sworn...

My phone vibrated, startling me a little, and I broke away from Kyoya to glance at it. When I saw the caller, I groaned. Kyoya raised an eyebrow, interested, but I quickly answered it and hid in the dressing rooms for privacy. "Hello?"

"Hello. Is this Ms. Reed?"

I nodded but realized they couldn't see. "Yes, this is she."

"Ah, good afternoon, Ms. Reed. My name is Dr. Higurashi. Your uncle asked me to call and remind you of our appointment today at—"

"Yes, I know. I'm on my way there now."

"Oh? Good! I'll see you in a few minutes then."

I ended the call, sighing, and headed out.

"I have to go," I told Kyoya, trying to keep the tension from my voice.

Either he didn't hear any or he ignored it. "Remember you have to be here tomorrow after school as well," he said simply, continuing his tapping.

"I know," I said. "I won't forget."

After a little nod to the rest, I walked out of the golden double doors.


	2. 「02」

**Blah Blah Blah:** The song choice this chapter is Kina Grannis's cover of _Can't Help Falling in Love with You_. I'm going to try to keep to tell you guys good covers to give you an idea of what all of the Hosts' are hearing, so here's the first! Also, I'll probably come back and edit this chapter since I'm not sure how happy I am with the way it went, but it's up for now, so let me know what you think. Happy reading~

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—2—  
「In Which Tyler is in America Again」

* * *

Ouran was no joke. The high school I was at before wasn't even a tenth of this place. Everywhere I turned, I found a new hallway filled with different rooms I hadn't seen before. I realized they had more than five of each classroom—libraries, gymnasiums, even kitchens used for culinary classes—and every time I felt like I was getting somewhere, I'd end up in a janitor's closet or one of the seven infirmaries. It was crazy!

To make matter's worse, there were _so many_ _students_. Every room had to have at least a hundred people in them now that classes were over for the day, and their eyes immediately found me, muttering amongst themselves quietly as soon as I peeked in. I guess it was weird for them, seeing an American walking around in typical American clothes—the black leggings and flip-flops were literally the only thing I had cleaned since Uncle Wes hadn't decided to do laundry yet, and I had to settle for one of his oversized button-ups until the rest of my clothes came in. Besides, while I respected Japan and its culture, there was no way I could afford the dress assigned as the girls' uniform (and I wouldn't really _want_ to wear such an ugly yellow color anyway.)

After a few more sets of stairs, though, and some help from a staff member (can you believe it? A staff member—in a school!), I managed to stand outside of the golden doors to Music Room 3.

At least, I thought it was Music Room 3, but when I opened the doors, I was suddenly back in America.

Except it wasn't even America—more like a stereotype of New York. The normal tables had been replaced with round glass tables, white tablecloths on every other one, and the chairs were some fancy suede: a beautiful beige color, but nothing like what was at an everyday coffee shop. The windows had been painted to look like it was overlooking some balcony in the middle of the city: tall building in the distance lit it up, complete with Lady Liberty on the horizon.

I stared at it all with wide eyes.

"Welcome~" came a familiar chorus.

The hosts stood in the middle of the room, right in between a group of tables. Tamaki, the prince of the club, was wearing a navy-blue Letterman jacket that had brown-colored sleeves, completed with black dress pants and matching brown loafers. Hikaru and Kaoru were both dressed in plaid shirts—though Hikaru's was blue and Kaoru's was pink—with dark-rinse jeans and a pair of Vans. Hani was in a simple white tee that had a cute pink bunny printed on the front and a pair of black shorts, while Mori went more of the athletic route: a grey muscle shirt, a pair of black Nike shorts, and Air Jordan's on his feet. Haruhi, thankfully, had a white tee with a letter jacket over it, like a stereotypical football player. Her dark-rinse jeans _did_ match the twin's, which I'm sure she was thrilled about, but she had a pair of Converse on instead of Vans.

Off to the side, like yesterday, Kyoya was leaning against the counter. He was dressed rather normally all things considered. Instead of the uniform, he was wearing a dark striped long-sleeve and a pair of boot-cut jeans. The Blucher oxford shoes he was wearing were a little too formal for the outfit, but strangely fit him anyway.

"Oh, songbird, there you are!" Tamaki cheered, coming to take my hand. "Thanks to you, we've decided to celebrate the American spirit."

"Uh..." I blinked, looking at all of them. "What... exactly...?"

But he wasn't listening, bouncing around the room to show me how authentic everything was.

"These came from an _actual_ restaurant in New York," he said, running his fingers along a table cloth. "And this was imported from a store in California." He showcased a vase that looked more expensive than it was worth. "We even have snacks prepared that are sure to bring in that American atmosphere~"

I couldn't help but laugh at the nice buffet table filled with Twinkies, pop tarts, and skittles. Lucky Charms and Twizzlers literally dotted around them, as if they were fancy foods, and I nearly died.

"I think you broke Ty-chan," Hani-senpai said, poking me as I tried to breathe.

"This... is _great_ , guys," I gulped, nearly in hiccups from laughing so hard. "To think you got _Twinkies_..."

"C'mon, Tyler, you have to admit American's love Twinkies," Hikaru said.

"Yeah. Aren't they the national food or something?" Kaoru asked.

I took a deep breath, wiping away tears. "Actually, I think hamburgers are the national food," I said, snickering, "and I'm pretty sure the only reason you guys think the national food is Twinkies is because it's a stereotype."

The twins shrugged.

"Does that mean you don't like Twinkies?" Hani-senpai wondered, taking a bite out of the sponge cake. His face lit up. "Because I think they're delicious!"

"It's not that I don't like them," I answered, thinking about it. "They're not bad when you're in the mood for something sweet."

He nodded, satisfied, and handed some to Mori-senpai. "Try some, Takashi~"

The sight of the stern senpai taking a bite out of a squishy cake made me dissolve into more giggles, and Hani grinned like that had been his goal all along.

"You're in a better mood today, Ty-chan," he said.

I snickered, trying to stop laughing. "What d'you mean?"

"You were so forlorn yesterday, like you were going to a funeral," Kyoya inserted, tapping mindlessly away on his tablet.

 _Well, excuse me if being chased by a pair of idiots puts me in a bad mood_ , I wanted to say. Instead, I shrugged. "Just had a better day today, I guess."

Hani-senpai grinned, like the fact I had a better day made _him_ happy, and hopped back to Mori-senpai. Kyoya didn't even look up, just continued his tapping as if nothing happened.

My jaw twitched. This guy's lack of response was actually starting to get on my nerves a little.

Trying to ignore him, I focused on what everyone was doing.

Yesterday, I had to leave before I could really see the Host Club in action, but now I could sit back and watch what all the hype was about. As the customers piled in, I scooted off to the side, watching curiously as girls took their respective places at each hosts' spot.

As expected, Tamaki had the most girls surrounding him. He was in the dead center of the room, sitting poised in one of the suede chairs, with over a dozen girls all around him, each trying to get closer than the other.

"So, Tamaki, where did you get the idea for this?" one of them asked, smiling sweetly.

"Well, you see my princess, we wanted Ouran's newest student, Tyler Reed, to feel at home," he explained. "And what better way than to bring her homeland here?"

They squealed. "Aw, Tamaki, you're such a sweetheart!"

Shaking my head, I looked over at Hikaru and Kaoru, who seemed to be enjoying themselves a little too much.

"Yeah, when Tamaki-senpai suggested we wear something American, Kaoru turned beet red," Hikaru teased, laughing with the five girls in front of them.

"Hikaru! How could you tell them that?" Kaoru whined, eyes watering. "Do you know how revealing some of their clothes are?"

Hikaru chuckled lowly, smiling reassuringly at his twin. "Don't worry, Kaoru. Only I'm allowed to see you showing so much skin."

"Hikaru, stop, you're embarrassing me," Kaoru said, swatting playfully at Hikaru as his face heated up, making the girls squeal.

I blinked, absolutely blown away by their acting skills, and glanced at Hani and Mori, almost scared of what I'd see.

Thankfully, they seemed relatively normal. Unlike Hikaru and Kaoru, who were exaggerating their love for each other, Hani and Mori kept everything to their normal selves more or less. Two girls smiled and 'aww'd as Hani climbed up Mori's shoulders to throw a basketball in a hoop they had gotten from who-knows-where.

Like always, off to the side, Kyoya was tapping away on his tablet—only, this time, there was a good number of girls around him too. At least three were talking animatedly with him, some looking at what he was doing on his tablet, others just staring at him, and, even weirder, he was _letting_ them, even smiling _back_.

And I thought Hikaru and Kaoru's acting skills were amazing.

He looked up just in time to catch my eye, slightly quirking an eyebrow as if asking me why I was watching him.

My face heated up, and I quickly looked away, trying to find Haruhi in the crowd of girls.

Instead, my eyes landed on a beautiful grand piano. It was tucked in the corner with a red rope barrier blocking it off like it was part of some art exhibit that no one was allowed to touch. It reminded me of those pianos that played themselves for guests' entertainment, except this one was clearly an old, original, no-electric-attached beauty.

I loved grand pianos. Especially ones as big and white as that one.

Without thinking about it, I made my way over to it, smiling politely at girls who gave me passing glances as I walked by them, and sat down on the smooth, leather seat, testing out a key. The sound rang out gorgeously, rich and full even in the large room.

I played the first chord, trying to get a feel for the notes, and opened my mouth.

 _Wise men say  
_ _Only fools rush in  
_ _But I can't help falling in love with you  
_ _Shall I stay?  
_ _Would it be a sin  
_ _If I can't help falling in love with you?_

The next notes coming up required more support and control, so I straightened up and closed my eyes, giving myself into the rhythm.

 _Like a river flows  
_ _Surely to the sea  
_ _Darling, so it goes  
_ _Some things are meant to be  
_ _So, take my hand,  
_ _Take my whole life, too  
_ _For I can't help falling in love with you  
_ _If I can't help falling in love with you_

I opened my eyes, confused for a moment, and then the entire place erupted into applause. I blinked, surprised, and turned red.

How could I forget I was in a crowded room!?

"Oh, daddy's little girl is always so beautiful when she's lost in her music," Tamaki sniffed, blowing into a handkerchief.

"I didn't mean to—"

"Don't worry about it, songbird," he said, pushing me back to the piano bench. "Just continue playing until your heart's content."

"Er, okay then," I muttered, getting situated in the bench again.

I kept it to American pop music for the most part, settling on _I'm Not the Only One_ by Sam Smith since the introduction had a nice swing to it, _Jealous_ by Labrinth since it had soft, repetitive chords, and various others that could easily be background music but still commonly known in America (at least, in my opinion). I didn't sing again—mostly to keep from interrupting everyone's fun with my bad habit of getting lost in music—but I caught myself humming on accident on more than one occasion.

Finally, when the last of the guests bowed goodbye, I got up, closed the piano, and slid the bench under it, debating on whether to leave so I wouldn't be in the way or help clean up. Of course, if I helped clean up, there was the possibility of breaking something—even without listening to music, I was pretty clumsy; music just didn't help it any. Besides, if Haruhi's situation was anything to go by, I could sell my body for a decade and still never be able to pay them back…

"Hey, Commoner-senpai, don't just stand there. Help us fold these table cloths!" Hikaru demanded.

I bit my lip to keep from sighing, berating myself for not leaving when I had the chance and walked over to the twins.

"Make sure to make it a neat square," Hikaru said, folding the table cloth in his hand as an example. "They'll wrinkle otherwise."

I raised an eyebrow. "You didn't strike me as the type of person to care."

Kaoru snorted. "He's not, but Kyoya-senpai will kill us if we don't make sure they're perfect."

"They're borrowed after all," Hikaru said, sullen.

I pursed my lips, debating whether or not to ask. "So, what's his deal?"

Both of them turned to look at me. "What do you mean?" they asked simultaneously.

I thought about the best way to word it. "Like, is he always so…" _jerkish?_ I bit my lip. "...stiff?"

They blinked before erupting into laughter.

"What?" I demanded. "I'm just curious."

"What you mean is—" Hikaru started in between chuckles.

"—whether Kyoya-senpai has always been so stuck-up," Kaoru finished, laughing.

"I just meant… nevermind," I said, giving up. It didn't matter what Kyoya's problem was. Just because I didn't like that blank look he had on his face anytime I talked to him didn't mean that there was something wrong with _him_ anyway. Maybe it was me. Most people thought it was irritating that I got so absorbed in music—after all, a girl who was constantly humming is annoying when you're trying to concentrate, right?—so maybe he just enjoyed his quiet. Even with keeping my mouth in check, I was a loud person. I projected too much when talking because I was used to projecting when singing, so maybe he and I were just incompatible people.

"The answer is yes," Hikaru said, still snickering. "Ever since we met him."

"There's a reason they call him the Shadow King," Kaoru agreed.

"And it's because he's the real brains behind the operation," Hikaru finished.

I nodded, remembering when the person giving me a tour of the school had mentioned the Host Club members and a certain "Shadow King." I had assumed that was why everyone liked him, though—because he was the quiet brains. The "cool" one, right?

"If you three have time to gossip," someone said behind me, a chill creeping up my spine, "you have time to hand-wash all of these tablecloths as well, correct?"

I spun around to protest—it's not _gossiping_ , just exchanging information in order to prepare for battle, and it wasn't the twins' fault—but I hadn't realized how close he was. "Uh…"

He raised an eyebrow, completely unaffected by the fact that we were basically breathing each other's air. "Is there a problem, Miss Reed?"

"You're…" I cleared my throat, looking at anywhere but him. "Could you move back a little?"

There was _definitely_ an amused smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "You're turning red," he said casually, a hand reaching towards me. "Do you have a fever?"

I couldn't help but grind my teeth. Of course the first time he'd be interested in something would be when he was making fun of me. Without thinking about it, I smacked his hand away. "Don't touch me."

It was a mistake, though, because he only seemed more entertained he pushed up his glasses. "I see," he said. "How interesting."

I blinked. "What?"

He didn't say anything more. Instead, he stepped back with a full-blown smirk on his face. "After you've finish folding the tablecloths, you're free to go, Tyler."

I stared at him as he walked away, completely dumbfounded. What'd he mean by 'interesting?'

"Did you see that, Kaoru?" Hikaru asked mockingly, a giant, creepy grin on his face.

"I did, Hikaru. What do you think it means?" Kaoru returned.

"I think it means that there's more to the American transfer student than meets the eye," he said.

I opened my mouth to tell them to get to the point, but quickly bit my lip instead and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well, you see Tyler-senpai, you've kept your head down since you got here," Hikaru started.

"But today you were pretty vocal. Especially when Kyoya-senpai was in your space," Kaoru continued.

"I think we saw your true colors for the first time today," Hikaru finished.

I ruffled my hair. "I just… have personal space issues," I half-lied. I did, on some level, hate people being in my bubble, but I could usually ignore it—when you lived with Uncle Wes and Aunt Krissy, you learned to just accept hugs all of the time. My real issue was that I hadn't seen Kyoya show any sort of _genuine_ expression since I started three days ago—even in class, he was as cool as cucumber—but as soon as he had something to torment me about, that damn smirk showed up.

Just thinking about it made me want to smack him.

"All we're saying is that you were like a totally different person a few seconds ago," Kaoru explained.

"I clam up when people get too close," I tried again. "I didn't mean to sound so… so harsh, but I just like my space."

They both snickered, nodding with fake understanding.

"Definitely," they said at the same time.

I groaned internally.

What did I just do?


End file.
